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More 

Jataka Tales 


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More 

Jataka Tales 

Re-told by 

Ellen C. Babbitt 


With illustrations by 
Ellsworth Young 



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New York 
The Century Co. 
1922 



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COPYRiaHT, 1922, BY 

The Centuby Co. 


FEINTED IN IT. S. A. 


oec 22 *22 


©0i.ARn2535 

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DEDICATED 

to 

RUDYARD KIPLING 

in the name of all children 
who troop to his call 

















FOREWORD 


The continued success of the ‘Jataka Tales/’ as retold 
and published ten years ago, has led to this second and com¬ 
panion volume. Who that has read or told stories to 
children has not been lured on by the subtle flattery of their 
cry for “more”? 

Dr. Felix Adler, in his Foreword to “Jataka Tales,” says 
that long ago he was “captivated by the charm of the Jataka 
Tales.” Little children have not only felt this charm, but 
they have discovered that they can read the stories to them¬ 
selves. And so “More Jataka Tales” were found in the vol¬ 
ume translated from the Sanskrit into English by a group 
of Cambridge scholars and published by the University 
Press. 

The Jataka tales, regarded as historic in the Third Cen¬ 
tury B. c., are the oldest collection of folk-lore extant. 
They come down to us from that dim for-off time when our 
forebears told tales around the same hearthfire on the roof 
of the world. Professor Rhys Davids speaks of them as 


FOREWORD 


‘'a priceless record of the childhood of our race. The same 
stories are found in Greek, Latin, Arabic, Persian, and in 
most European languages. The Greek versions of the 
Jataka tales were adapted and ascribed to the famous story¬ 
teller, .^sop, and under his name handed down as a con¬ 
tinual feast for the children in the West,—tales first in¬ 
vented to please and instruct our far-off cousins in the 
East.’^ Here East, though East, meets West! 

A "‘Guild of Jataka Translators,” under Professor E. B. 
Cowell, professor of Sanskrit in the University of Cam¬ 
bridge, brought out the complete edition of the Jataka be¬ 
tween 1895 and 1907. It is from this source that “Jataka 
Tales” and “More Jataka Tales” have been retold. 

Of these stories, spread over Europe through literary 
channels. Professor Cowell says, “They are the stray waifs 
of literature, in the course of their long wanderings coming 
to be recognized under widely different aspects, as when 
they are used by Boccaccio, or Chaucer, or La Fontaine.” 


CONTENTS 


OHAPTEB PAGE 

I The Girl Monkey and the String of Pearls 3 

II The Three Fishes. 8 

III The Tricky Wolf and the Rats . . . . ii 

IV The Woodpecker, Turtle, and Deer ... 15 

V The Stupid Monkeys. 21 

VI The Golden Goose.24 

VII The Cunning Wolf.27 

VIII The Penny-Wise Monkey.30 

IX The Red-Bud Tree. 33 

X The Woodpecker and the Lion .... 36 

XI The Otters and the Wolf .39 

XII How THE Monkey Saved His Troop ... 42 

XIII The Hawks and Their Friends .... 48 

XIV The Brave Little Bowman. 55 

XV The Foolhardy Wolf.60 

XVI The Stolen Plow.65 

XVII The Lion in Bad Company 68 












CONTENTS 


PAG! 


CHAPTBB 

XVIII The Wise Goat and the Wolf. 72 

XIX Prince Wicked and the Grateful Animals 76 

XX Beauty and Brownie. 86 

XXI The Elephant and the Dog.90 




More 

Jataka Tales 



MORE JATAKA TALES 


I 

THE GIRL MONKEY AND THE STRING OF 
PEARLS 

O NE day the king went for a long walk in the 
woods. When he came back to his own garden, 
he sent for his family to come down to the lake 
for a swim. 

When they were all ready to go into the water, the queen 
and her ladies left their jewels in charge of the servants, 
and then went down into the lake. 

As the queen put her string of pearls aw^y in a box, 
she was watched by a Girl Monkey who sat in the branches 
of a tree near-by. This Girl Monkey wanted to get the 
queen’s string of pearls, so she sat still and watched, hoping 
that the servant in charge of the pearls would go to sleep. 

At first the servant kept her eyes on the jewel-box. But 
by and by she began to nod, and then she fell fast asleep. 

3 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

As soon as the Monkey saw this, quick as the wind she 
jumped down, opened the box, picked up the string of pearls, 
and quick as the wind she was up in the tree again, holding 
the pearls very carefully. She put the string of pearls on, 
and then, for fear the guards in the garden would see the 
pearls, the Monkey hid them in a hole in the tree. Then she 
sat near-by looking as if nothing had happened. 

By and by the servant awoke. She looked in the box, 
and finding that the string of pearls was not there, she 
cried, *'A man has run off with the queen’s string of pearls.” 

Up ran the guards from every side. 

The servant said: *T sat right here beside the box where 
the queen put her string of pearls. I did not move from the 
place. But the day is hot, and I was tired. I must have 
fallen asleep. The pearls were gone when I awoke.” 

The guards told the king that the pearls were gone. 

‘'Find the man who stole the pearls,” said the king. Away 
went the guards looking high and low for the thief. 

After the king had gone, the chief guard said to him¬ 
self : 

"There is something strange here. These pearls,” 
thought he, "were lost in the garden. There was a strong 
guard at the gates, so that no one from the outside could get 
into the garden. On the other hand, there are hundreds of 

4 







MORE JATAKA TALES 

Monkeys here in the garden. Perhaps one of the Girl Mon¬ 
keys took the string of pearls.” 

Then the chief guard thought of a trick that would tell 
whether a Girl Monkey had taken the pearls. So he bought 
a number of strings of bright-colored glass beads. 

After dark that night the guards hung the strings of glass 
beads here and there on the low bushes in the garden. When 
the Monkeys saw the strings of bright-colored beads the 
next morning, each Monkey ran for a string. 

But the Girl Monkey who had taken the queen’s string of 
pearls did not come down. She sat near the hole where she 
had hidden the pearls. 

The other Monkeys were greatly pleased with their 
strings of beads. They chattered to one another about 
them. ‘‘It is too bad you did not get one,” they said to her 
as she sat quietly, saying nothing. At last she could stand 
it no longer. She put on the queen’s string of pearls and 
came down, saying proudly: “You have only strings of glass 
beads. See my string of pearls!” 

Then the chief of the guards, who had been hiding near¬ 
by, caught the Girl Monkey. He took her at once to the 
king. 

“It was this Girl Monkey, your Majesty, who took the 
pearls.” 


6 


GIRL MONKEY AND STRING OF PEARLS 


The king was glad enough to get the pearls, but he asked 
the chief guard how he had found out who took them. 

The chief guard told the king that he knew no one could 
have come into the garden and so he thought they must have 
been taken by one of the Monkeys in the garden. Then he 
told the king about the trick he had played with the beads. 

'*You are the right man in the right place,” said the king, 
and he thanked the chief of the guards over and over again. 



7 


II 


THE THREE FISHES 

O NCE upon a time three Fishes lived in a far-away 
river. They were named Thoughtful, Very- 
Thoughtful, and Thoughtless. 

One day they left the wild country where no men lived, 
and came down the river to live near a town. 

Very-Thoughtful said to the other two: ‘There is dan¬ 
ger all about us here. Fishermen come to the river here to 
catch fish with all sorts of nets and lines. Let us go back 
again to the wild country where we used to live.’^ 

But the other two Fishes were so lazy and so greedy that 
they kept putting off their going from day to day. 

But one day Thoughtful and Thoughtless went swimming 
on ahead of Very-Thoughtful and they did not see the fisher¬ 
man’s net and rushed into it. Very-Thoughtful saw them 
rush into the net. 

‘T must save them,” said Very-Thoughtful. 

So swimming around the net, he splashed in the water in 
8 


THE THREE FISHES 



front of it, like a Fish that had broken through the net and 
gone up the river. Then he swam back of the net and 


splashed about there like a Fish that had broken through and 
gone down the river. 


9 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

The fisherman saw the splashing water and thought the 
Fishes had broken through the net and that one had gone up 
the river, the other down, so he pulled in the net by one cor¬ 
ner. That let the two Fishes out of the net and away they 
went to find Very-Thoughful. 

‘‘You saved our lives, Very-Thoughtful,” they said, “and 
now we are willing to go back to the wild country.” 

So back they all went to their old home where they lived 
safely ever after. 


10 


Ill 


THE TRICKY WOLF AND THE RATS 

O NCE upon a time a Big Rat lived in the forest, and 
many hundreds of other Rats called him their 
Chief. 

A Tricky Wolf saw this troop of Rats, and began to plan 
how he could catch them. He wanted to eat them, but how 
was he to get them? At last he thought of a plan. He 
went to a corner near the home of the Rats and waited un¬ 
til he saw one of them coming. Then he stood up on his 
hind legs. 

The Chief of the Rats said to the Wolf, ‘Wolf, why do 
you stand on your hind legs?’’ 

“Because I am lame,” said the Tricky Wolf. “It hurts 
me to stand on my front legs.” 

“And why do you keep your mouth open ?” asked the Rat. 
“I keep my mouth open so that I may drink in all the air 
I can,” said the Wolf. “I live on air; it is my only food 
day after day. I can not run or walk, so I stay here. I 
* II 



12 




THE TRICKY WOLF AND THE RATS 


try not to complain.’* When the Rats went away the Wolf 
lay down. 

The Chief of the Rats was sorry for the Wolf, and he 
went each night and morning with all the other Rats to talk 
with the Wolf, who seemed so poor, and who did not com¬ 
plain. 



Each time as the Rats were leaving, the Wolf caught and 
ate the last one. Then he wiped his lips, and looked as if 
nothing had happened. 

Each night there were fewer Rats at bedtime. Then 
they asked the Chief of the Rats what the trouble was. He 
could not be sure, but he thought the Wolf was to blame. 

So the next day the Chief said to the other Rats, “You 
go first this time and I will go last.” 

They did so, and as the Chief of the Rats went by, the 

13 



MORE JATAKA TALES 

Wolf made a spring at him. But the Wolf was not quick 
enough, and the Chief of the Rats got away. 

^‘So this is the food you eat. Your legs are not so lame 
as they were. You have played your last trick, Wolf,’* said 
the Chief of the Rats, springing at the Wolf’s throat. He 
bit the Wolf, so that he died. 

And ever after the Rats lived happily in peace and quiet. 


14 


IV 


THE WOODPECKER, TURTLE, AND DEER 

O NCE upon a time a Deer lived in a forest near a 
lake. Not far from the same lake, a Woodpecker 
had a nest in the top of a tree; and in the lake 
lived a Turtle. The three were friends, and lived together 
happily. 

A hunter, wandering about in the wood, saw the foot¬ 
prints of the Deer near the edge of the lake. *‘l must trap 
the Deer, going down into the water,” he said, and setting 
a strong trap of leather, he went his way. 

Early that night when the Deer went down to drink, he 
was caught in the trap, and he cried the cry of capture. 

At once the Woodpecker flew down from her tree-top, 
and the Turtle came out of the water to see what could be 
done. 

Said the Woodpecker to the Turtle: ‘‘Friend, you have 
teeth; you gnaw through the leather trap. I will go and see 
to it that the hunter keeps away. If we both do our be§t 
our friend will not lose his life.” 

IS 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

So the Turtle began to gnaw the leather, and the Wood¬ 
pecker flew to the hunter’s house. 

At dawn the hunter came, knife in hand, to the front door 



of his house. 

The Woodpecker, flapping her wings, flew at the hunter 
and struck him in the face. 




17 




MORE JATAKA TALES 

The hunter turned back into the house and lay down for 
a little while. Then he rose up again, and took his knife. 
He said to himself: ‘‘When I went out by the front door, a 
Bird flew in my face; now I will go out by the back door.*' 
So he did. 

The Woodpecker thought: “The hunter went out by the 
front door before, so now he will leave by the back door.^* 
So the Woodpecker sat in a tree near the back door. 

When the hunter came out the bird flew at him again, 
flapping her wings in the hunter’s face. 

Then the hunter turned back and lay down again. When 
the sun arose, he took his knife, and started out once more. 

This time the Woodpecker flew back as fast as she could 
fly to her friends, crying, “Here comes the hunter!” 

By this time the Turtle had gnawed through all the pieces 
of the trap but one. The leather was so hard that it made 
his teeth feel as if they would fall out. His mouth was all 
covered with blood. The Deer heard the Woodpecker, and 
saw the hunter, knife in hand, coming on. With a strong 
pull the Deer broke this last piece of the trap, and ran into 
the woods. 

The Woodpecker flew up to her nest in the tree-top. 

But the Turtle was so weak he could not get away. He 
l8 


THE WOODPECKER, TURTLE, AND DEER 

lay where he was. The hunter picked him up and threw 
him into a bag, tying it to a tree. 

The Deer saw that the Turtle was taken, and made up his 
mind to save his friend’s life. So the Deer let the hunter 
see him. 

The hunter seized his knife and started after the Deer. 
The Deer, keeping just out of his reach, led the hunter into 
the forest. 

When the Deer saw that they had gone far into the for¬ 
est he slipped away from the hunter, and swift as the wind, 
he went by another way to where he had left the Turtle. 

But the Turtle was not there. The Deer called, '‘Turtle, 
Turtle!”; and the Turtle called out, “Here I am in a bag 
hanging on this tree.” 

Then the Deer lifted the bag with his horns, and throw¬ 
ing it upon the ground, he tore the bag open, and let the 
Turtle out. 

The Woodpecker flew down from her nest, and the Deer 
said to them: “You two friends saved my life, but if we 
stay here talking, the hunter will find us, and we may not 
get away. So do you. Friend Woodpecker, fly away. And 
you. Friend Turtle, dive into the water. I will hide in the 
forest.” 


19 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

The hunter did come back, but neither the Deer, nor the 
Turtle, nor the Woodpecker was to be seen. He found his 
tom bag, and picking that up he went back to his home. 
The three friends lived together all the rest of their lives. 


20 


V 


THE GOLDEN GOOSE 

O NCE upon a time there was a Goose who 
had beautiful golden feathers. Not far away 
from this Goose lived a poor, a very poor woman, 
who had two daughters. The Goose saw that they had a 
hard time to get along and said he to himself: 

‘Tf I give them one after another of my golden feathers, 
the mother can sell them, and with the money they bring 
she and her daughters can then live in comfort.’^ 

So away the Goose flew to the poor woman’s house. 
Seeing the Goose, the woman said: “Why do you come 
here? We have nothing to give you.” 

“But I have something to give you,” said the Goose. “I 
will give my feathers, one by one, and you can sell them for 
enough so that you and your daughters can live in com¬ 
fort.” 

So saying the Goose gave her one of his feathers, and 
then flew away. From time to time he came back, each time 
leaving another feather. 


21 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

The mother and her daughters sold the beautiful feathers 
for enough money to keep them in comfort. But one day 
the mother said to her daughters: ‘'Let us not trust this 
Goose. Some day he may fly away and never come back. 

Then we should be poor again. Let us get all of his feath¬ 
ers the very next time he comes.” 

The daughters said: “This will hurt the Goose. We will 
not do such a thing.” 

But the mother was greedy. The next time the Golden 


22 


THE GOLDEN GOOSE 


Goose came she took hold of him with both hands, and 
pulled out every one of his feathers. 

Now the Golden Goose has strange feathers. If his 
feathers are plucked out against his wish, they no longer re¬ 



main golden but turn white and are of no more value than 
chicken-feathers. The new ones that come in are not 
golden, but plain white. 

As time went on his feathers grew again, and then he flew 
away to his home and never came back again. 

25 


VI 


THE STUPID MONKEYS 


O NCE upon a time a king gave a holiday to all the 
people in one of his cities. 

The king’s gardener thought to himself: “All 
my friends are having a holiday in the city. I could go in¬ 
to the city and enjoy myself with them if I did not have to 
water the trees here in this garden. I know what I will do. 
I will get the Monkeys to water the young trees for me.” 
In those days, a tribe of Monkeys lived in the king’s garden. 

So the gardener went to the Chief of the Monkeys, and 
said: “You are lucky Monkeys to be living in the king’s gar¬ 
den. You have a fine place to play in. You have the best 
of food—nuts, fruit, and the young shoots of trees to eat. 
You have no work at all to do. You can play all day, every 
day. To-day my friends are having a holiday in the city, 
and I want to enjoy myself with them. Will you water the 
young trees so that I can go away ?” 

“Oh, yes!” said the Chief of the Monkeys. “We shall be 
glad to do that.” 


24 


THE STUPID MONKEYS 



‘‘Do not forget to water the trees when the sun goes 
down. See they have plenty of water, but not too much,’’ 
said the gardener. Then he showed them where the water¬ 
ing-pots were kept, and went away. 


When the sun went down the Monkeys took the watering- 
pots, and began to water the young trees. “See that each 
tree has enough water,” said the Chief of the Monkeys. 

“How shall we know when each tree has enough?” they 
asked. The Chief of the Monkeys had no good answer, so 

25 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

he said: ‘Tull up each young tree and look at the length of 
its roots. Give a great deal of water to those with long 
roots, but only a little to those trees that have short roots.^* 
Then those stupid Monkeys pulled up all the young trees 
to see which trees had long roots and which had short roots. 

When the gardener came back the next day, the poor 
young trees were all dead. 


26 


VII 


THE CUNNING WOLF 

O NCE upon a time the people in a certain town went 
out into the woods for a holiday. They took 
baskets full of good things to eat. But when 
noontime came they ate all the meat they had brought with 
them, not leaving any for supper. 

‘T will get some fresh meat. We will make a fire here 
and roast it,'’ said one of the men. 

So taking a club, he went to the lake where the animals 
came to drink. He lay down, club in hand, pretending to be 
dead. 

When the animals came down to the lake they saw the 
man lying there and they watched him for some time. 

'That man is playing a trick on us, I believe,” said the 
King of the Wolves. "The rest of you stay here while I 
will see whether he is really dead, or whether he is pretend¬ 
ing to be dead.” 


27 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

Then the cunning King of the Wolves crept up to the man 
and slyly pulled at his club. 

At once the man pulled back on his club. 

Then the King of the Wolves ran off saying: ‘Tf you had 
been dead, you would not have pulled back on your club 
when I tried to pull it away. I see your trick. You pre¬ 



tend you are dead so that you may kill one of us for your 
supper.’’ 

The man jumped up and threw his club at the King of 
the Wolves. But he missed his aim. He looked for the 
other animals but there was not one in sight. They had 
all run away. 


28 


THE CUNNING WOLF 


Then the man went back to his friends, saying: ‘T tried to 
get fresh meat by playing a trick on the animals, but the 
cunning Wolf played a better trick on me, and I could not 
get one of them.” 



29 


VIII 


THE PENNY-WISE MONKEY 

O NCE upon a time the king of a large and rich 
country gathered together his army to take a far¬ 
away little country. 

The king and his soldiers marched all morning long and 
then went into camp in the forest. 

When they fed the horses they gave them some peas to 
eat. One of the Monkeys living in the forest saw the peas 
and jumped down to get some of them. He filled his mouth 
and hands with them, and up into the tree he went again, 
and sat down to eat the peas. 

As he sat there eating the peas, one pea fell from his hand 
to the ground. At once the greedy Monkey dropped all the 
peas he had in his hands, and ran down to hunt for the lost 
pea. But he could not find that one pea. He climbed up 
into his tree again, and sat still looking very glum. ‘‘To 
get more, I threw away what I had,” he said to himself. 
The king had watched the Monkey, and he said to him- 

30 


¥ 



i 








MORE JATAKA TALES 

self: ‘T will not be like this foolish Monkey, who lost much 
to gain a little. I will go back to my own country and enjoy 
what I now have.” 

So he and his men marched back home. 


33 


IX 


THE RED-BUD TREE 

O NCE upon a time four young princes heard a story 
about a certain wonderful tree, called the Red- 
Bud Tree. No one of them had ever seen a Red- 
Bud Tree, and each prince wished to be the first to see one. 

So the eldest prince asked the driver of the king’s chariot 
to take him deep into the woods where this tree grew. It 
was still very early in the spring and the tree had no leaves, 
nor buds. It was black and bare like a dead tree. The 
prince could not understand why this was called a Red-Bud 
Tree, but he asked no questions. 

Later in the spring, the next son went with the driver of 
the king’s chariot to see the Red-Bud Tree. At this time 
it was covered with red buds. 

The tree was all covered with green leaves when the third 
son went into the woods a little later to see it. He asked 
no questions about it, but he could see no reason for calling 
it the Red-Bud Tree. 

Some time after this the youngest prince begged to be 

33 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

taken to see the Red-Bud Tree. By this time it was covered 
with little bean-pods. 

When he came back from the woods he ran into the gar¬ 
den where his brothers were playing, crying, ‘T have seen 
the Red-Bud Tree.’' 



‘*So have I,” said the eldest prince. ‘Tt did not look like 
much of a tree to me,” said he; “it looked like a dead tree. 
It was black and bare.” 

‘‘What makes you say that?” said the second son. “The 
tree has hundreds of beautiful red buds. This is why it is 
called the Red-Bud Tree.” 


34 




THE RED-BUD TREE 


The third prince said: ‘‘Red buds, did you say? Why do 
you say it has red buds ? It is covered with green leaves.” 

The prince who had seen the tree last laughed at his broth¬ 
ers, saying: “I have just seen that tree, and it is not like a 
dead tree. It has neither red buds nor green leaves on it. 
It is covered with little bean-pods.” 

The king heard them and waited until they stopped talk¬ 
ing. Then he said: “My sons, you have all four seen the 
same tree, but each of you saw it at a different time of the 
year.” 


35 


X 


THE WOODPECKER AND THE LION 

O NE day while a Lion was eating his dinner a bone 
stuck in his throat. It hurt so that he could not 
finish his dinner. He walked up and down, up 
and down, roaring with pain. 

A Woodpecker lit on a branch of a tree near-by, and hear¬ 
ing the Lion, she said, “Friend, what ails you?” The Lion 
told the Woodpecker what the matter was, and the Wood¬ 
pecker said: “I would take the bone out of your throat, 
friend, but I do not dare to put my head into your mouth, 
for fear I might never get it out again. I am afraid you 
might eat me.” 

“O Woodpecker, do not be afraid,” the Lion said. “I will 
not eat you. Save my life if you can!” 

“I will see what I can do for you,” said the Woodpecker. 
“Open your mouth wide.” The Lion did as he was told, 
but the Woodpecker said to himself: “Who knows what this 
Lion will do? I think I will be careful.” 

36 


THE WOODPECKER AND THE LION 


So the Woodpecker put a stick between the Lion’s upper 
and lower jaws so that he could not shut his mouth. 

Then the Woodpecker hopped into the Lion’s mouth and 
hit the end of the bone with his beak. The second time he 
hit it, the bone fell out 



The Woodpecker hopped out of the Lion’s mouth, and hit 
the stick so that it too fell out. Then the Lion could shut 
his mouth. 

At once the Lion felt very much better, but not one word 
of thanks did he say to the Woodpecker. 

37 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

One day later in the summer, the Woodpecker said to the 
Lion, ‘T want you to do something for me.” 

‘*Do something for you?” said the Lion. ‘Wou mean 
you want me to do something more for you. I have al¬ 
ready done a great deal for you. You cannot expect me to 
do anything more for you. Do not forget that once I had 
you in my mouth, and I let you go. That is all that you can 
ever expect me to do for you.” 

The Woodpecker said no more, but he kept away from 
the Lion from that day on. 


38 


xr 


THE OTTERS AND THE WOLF 


O NE day a Wolf said to her mate, “A longing has 
come upon me to eat fresh fish.” 

“I will go and get some for you,” said he and 
he went down to the river. 

There he saw two Otters standing on the bank looking for 
fish. Soon one of the Otters saw a great fish, and entering 
the water with a bound, he caught hold of the tail of the fish. 

But the fish was strong and swam away, dragging the 
Otter after him. ‘^Corne and help me,” the Otter called 
back to his friend. “This great fish will be enough for both 
of us!” 

So the other Otter went into the water. The two together 
were able to bring the fish to land. “Let us divide the fish 
into two parts.” 

“I want the half with the head on,” said one. 

“You cannot have that half. That is mine,” said the 
other. “You take the tail.” 

The Wolf heard the Otters and he went up to them. 

39 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

Seeing the Wolf, the Otters said: “Lord of the gray-grass 
color, this fish was caught by both of us together. We can¬ 
not agree about dividing him. Will you divide him for us 
The Wolf cut off the tail and gave it to one, giving the 
head to the other. He took the large middle part for him¬ 



self, saying to them, “You can eat the head and the tail with¬ 
out quarreling.'’ And away he ran with the body of the 
fish. The Otters stood and looked at each other. They 
had nothing to say, but each thought to himself that the 
Wolf had run off with the best of the fish. 


40 


THE OTTERS AND THE WOLF 


The Wolf was pleased and said to himself, as he ran to¬ 
ward home, “Now I have fresh fish for my mate.’^ 

His mate, seeing him coming, came to meet him, saying: 
“How did you get fish? You live on land, not in the 
water.’' 

Then he told her of the quarrel of the Otters. “I took the 
fish as pay for settling their quarrel,” said he. 


41 


XII 


HOW THE MONKEY SAVED HIS TROOP 
MANGO-TREE grew on the bank of a great river. 



The fruit fell from some of the branches of this 


tree into the river, and from other branches it 


fell on the ground. 

Every night a troop of Monkeys gathered the fruit that 
lay on the ground and climbed up into the tree to get the 
mangoes, which were like large, juicy peaches. 

One day the king of the country stood on the bank of 
this same river, but many miles below where the mango- 
tree grew. The king was watching the fishermen with their 
nets. 

As they drew in their nets, the fishermen found not only 
fishes but a strange fruit. They went to the king with the 
strange fruit. “What is this?’^ asked the king. 

“We do not know, O King,’^ they said. 

“Call the foresters,’' said the king, “They will know 
what it is.” 


42 


HOW THE MONKEY SAVED HIS TROOP 

So they called the foresters and they said that it was a 
mango. 

“Is it good to eat?” asked the king. 

The foresters said it was very good. So the king cut the 



mango and giving some to the princes, he ate some of it 
himself. He liked it very much, and they all liked it. 

Then the king said to the foresters, “Where does the 
mango-tree grow?” 


43 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

The foresters told him that it grew on the river bank 
many miles farther up the river. 

‘'Let us go and see the tree and get some mangoes,’^ said 
the king. 

So he had many rafts joined together, and they went up 
the river until they came to the place where the mango-tree 
grew. 

The foresters said, “O King, this is the mango-tree.” 

“We will land here,” said the king, and they did so. The 
king and all the men with him gathered the mangoes that 
lay on the ground under the tree. They all liked them so 
well that the king said, “Let us stay here to-night, and ga¬ 
ther more fruit in the morning.” So they had their supper 
under the trees, and then lay down to sleep. 

When all was quiet, the Chief of the Monkeys came with 
his troop. All the mangoes on the ground had been eaten, 
so the monkeys jumped from branch to branch, picking and 
eating mangoes, and chattering to one another. They made 
so much noise that they woke up the king. He called his 
archers saying: “Stand under the mango-tree and shoot the 
Monkeys as they come down to the ground to get away. 
Then in the morning we shalj have Monkey’s flesh as well 
as mangoes to eat.” 

The Monkeys saw the archers standing around with their 

44 



45 




MORE JATAKA TALES 


arrows ready to shoot. Fearing death, the Monkeys ran to 
their Chief, saying: Chief, the archers stand around the 

tree ready to shoot us! What shall we do They shook 
with fear. 

The Chief said: “Do not fear; I will save you. Stay 
where you are until I call you.” 

The Monkeys were comforted, for he had always helped 
them whenever they had needed help. 

Then the Chief of the Monkeys ran out on the branch of 
the mango-tree that hung out over the river. The long 
branches of the tree across the river did not quite meet the 
branch he stood on. The Chief said to himself: “If the 
Monkeys try to jump across from this tree to that, some of 
them will fall into the water and drown. I must save 
them, but how am I to do it ? I know what I shall do. I 
shall make a bridge of my back.” 

So the Chief reached across and took hold of the longest 
branch of the tree across the river. He called, “Come, 
Monkeys; run out on this branch, step on my back, and then 
run along the branch of the other tree.” 

The Monkeys did as the Chief told them to do. They 
ran along the branch, stepped on his back, then ran along 
the branch of the other tree. They swung themselves down 
to the ground, and away they went back to their home. 

46 


HOW THE MONKEY SAVED HIS TROOP 


The king saw all that was done by the Chief and his troop. 
‘That big Monkey,” said the king to the archers, “saved the 
whole troop. I will see to it that he is taken care of the 
rest of his life.” 

And the king kept his promise. 


47 


XIII 


THE HAWKS) AND THEIR FRIENDS 
FAMILY of Hawks lived on an island in a lake not 



far from the great forest. On the northern shore 


of this lake lived a Lion, King of Beasts. On the 


eastern shore lived a Kingfisher. On the southern shore of 
the lake lived a Turtle. 

'‘Have you many friends near here?” the Mother Hawk 
asked the Father Hawk. 

“No, not one in this part of the forest,” he said. 

“You must find some friends. We must have some one 
who can help us if ever we are in danger, or in trouble,” 
said the Mother Hawk. 

“With whom shall I make friends?” asked the Father 
Hawk. 

“With the Kingfisher, who lives on the eastern shore, and 
with the Lion on the north,” said the Mother Hawk, “and 
with the Turtle who lives on the southern shore of this 
lake.” 

The Father Hawk did so. 


48 


THE HAWKS AND THEIR FRIENDS 


One day men hunted in the great forest from morning un¬ 
til night, but found nothing. Not wishing to go home 
empty-handed, they went to the island to see what they could 
find there. 

“Let us stay here to-night,” they said, “and see what we 
can find in the morning.” 

So they made beds of leaves for themselves and lay down 
to sleep. They had made their beds under the tree in which 
the Hawks had their nest. 

But the hunters could not go to sleep because they were 
bothered by the flies and mosquitoes. At last the hunters 
got up and made a fire on the shore of the lake, so that the 
smoke would drive away the flies and mosquitoes. The 
smoke awoke the birds, and the young ones cried out. 

“Did you hear that?” said one of the hunters. “That 
was the cry of birds! They will do very well for our break¬ 
fast. There are young ones in that nest.” And the hun¬ 
ters put more wood on the fire, and made it blaze up. 

Then the Mother bird said to the Father: “These men are 
planning to eat our young ones. We must ask our friends 
to save us. Go to the Kingfisher and tell him what danger 
we are in.” 

The Father Hawk flew with all speed to the Kingfisher's 
nest and woke him with his cry. 

49 



THE HAWKS AND THEIR FRIENDS 

‘‘Why have you come?’’ asked the Kingfisher. 

Then the Father Hawk told the Kingfisher what the hun¬ 
ters planned to do. 

“Fear not,” said the Kingfisher. “I will help you. Go 
back quickly and comfort my friend your mate, and say that 
I am coming.” 

So the Father Hawk flew back to his nest, and the King¬ 
fisher flew to the island and went into the lake near the place 
where the fire was burning. 

While the Father Hawk was away, one of the hunters had 
climbed up into the tree. Just as he neared the nest, the 
Kingfisher, beating the water with his wings, sprinkled wa¬ 
ter on the fire and put it out. 

Down came the hunter to make another fire. When it 
was burning well he climbed the tree again. Once more the 
,Kingfisher put it out. As often as a fire was made, the 
Kingfisher put it out. Midnight came and the Kingfisher 
was now very tired. 

The Mother Hawk noticed this and said to her mate: “The 
Kingfisher is tired out. Go and ask the Turtle to help us so 
that the Kingfisher may have a rest.” 

The Father Hawk flew down and said, “Rest awhile. 
Friend Kingfisher; I will go and get the Turtle.” 

51 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

So the Father Hawk flew to the southern shore and 
wakened the Turtle. 

‘^What is your errand, Friend?” asked the Turtle. 

^'Danger has come to us,” said the Father Hawk, and he 
told the Turtle about the hunters. ‘‘The Kingfisher has 
been working for hours, and now he is very tired. That 
is why I have come to you.” 

The Turtle said, “I will help you at once.” 

Then the Turtle went to the island where the Hawks 
lived. He dived into the water, collected some mud, and put 
out the fire with it. Then he lay still. 

The hunters cried: ‘‘Why should we bother to get the 
young Hawks? Let us kill this Turtle. He will make a 
fine breakfast for all of us. We must be careful or he will 
bite us. Let us throw a net over him and turn him over.” 

They had no nets with them, so they took some vines, and 
tore their clothes into strings and made a net. 

But when they had put the net all over the Turtle, they 
could not roll him over. Instead, the Turtle suddenly dived 
down into the deep water. The men were so eager to get him 
that they did not let go of the net, so down they went into 
the water. As they came out they said: “Half the night a 
Kingfisher kept putting out our fires. Now we have torn 

52 





MORE JATAKA TALES 

our clothes and got all wet trying to get this Turtle. We 
will build another fire, and at sunrise we will eat those 
young Hawks.” And they began to build another fire. 

The Mother Hawk heard them, and said to her mate: 
‘^Sooner or later these men will get our young. Do go and 
tell our friend the Lion.” 

At once the Father Hawk flew to the Lion. 

‘‘Why do you come at this hour of the night?” asked the 
Lion. 

The Hawk told him the whole story. 

The Lion said: ‘T will come at once. You go back and 
comfort your mate and the young ones.” Soon the Lion 
came roaring. 

When the hunters heard the Lion’s roar they cried, “Now 
we shall all be killed.” And away they ran as fast as they 
could go. 

When the Lion came to the foot of the tree, not one of 
the hunters was to be seen. Then the Kingfisher and the 
Turtle came up, and the Hawks said: “You have saved us. 
Friends in need are friends indeed.” 


54 


XIV 


THE BRAVE LITTLE BOWMAN 


O NCE upon a time there was a little man with a 
crooked back who was called the wise little bow¬ 
man because he used his bow and arrow so very 
well. This crooked little man said to himself: “If I go to 
the king and ask him to let me join his army, he^s sure to 
ask what a little man like me is good for. I must find some 
great big man who will take me as his page, and ask the 
king to take us.'' So the little bowman went about the city 
looking for a big man. 

One day he saw a big, strong man digging a ditch, 
“What makes a fine big man like you do such work?" asked 
the little man. 

“I do this work because I can earn a living in no other 
way," said the big man. 

“Dig no more," said the bowman. “There is in this 
whole country no such bowman as I am; but no king would 
let me join his army because I am such a little man. I 

55 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

want you to ask the king to let you join the army. He will 
take you because you are big and strong. I will do the 
work that you are given to do, and we will divide the pay. 
In this way we shall both of us earn a good living. Will 
you come with me and do as I tell you?” asked the little 
bowman. 

‘‘Yes, I will go with you,” said the big man. 

So together they set out to go to the king. By and by 
they came to the gates of the palace, and sent word to the 
king that a wonderful bowman was there. The king sent 
for the bowman to come before him. Both the big man 
and the little man went in and, bowing, stood before the 
king. 

The king looked at the big man and asked, “What brings 
you here?” 

“I want to be in your army,” said the big man, 

“Who is the little man with you?” asked the king. 

“He is my page,” said the big man. 

“What pay do you want?” asked the king. 

“A thousand pieces a month for me and my page, O 
King,” said the big man. 

“I will take you and your page,” said the king. 

So the big man and the little bowman joined the king's 
army. 


S6 


THE BRAVE LITTLE BOWMAN 


Now in those days there was a tiger in the forest who had 
carried off many people. The king sent for the big man 
and told him to kill that tiger. 

The big man told the little bowman what the king said. 
They went into the forest together, and soon the little bow¬ 
man shot the tiger. 

The king was glad to be rid of the tiger, and gave the big 
man rich gifts and praised him. 

Another day word came that a buffalo was running up 
and down a certain road. The king told the big man to go 
and kill that buffalo. The big man and the little man went 
to the road, and soon the little man shot the buffalo. When 
they both went back to the king, he gave a bag of money to 
the big man. 

The king and all the people praised the big man, and so 
one day the big man said to the little man: ‘T can get on 
without you. Do you think there’s no bowman but your¬ 
self ?” Many other harsh and unkind things did he say to 
the little man. 

But a few days later a king from a far country marched 
upon the city and sent a message to its king saying, “Give 
up your country, or do battle.^’ 

The king at once sent his army. The big man was armed 
and mounted on a war-elephant. But the little bowman 

57 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

knew that the big man could not shoot, so he took his bow 
and seated himself behind the big man. 

Then the war-elephant, at the head of the army, went out 
of the city. At the first beat of the drums, the big man 



shook with fear. ‘‘Hold on tight,'' said the little bowman. 
“If you fall off now, you will be killed. You need not be 
afraid; I am here." 

But the big man was so afraid that he slipped down off 

58 


THE BRAVE LITTLE BOWMAN 


the war-elephant’s back, and ran back into the city. He 
did not stop until he reached his home. 

^‘And now to win!” said the little bowman, as he drove 
the war-elephant into the fight. The army broke into the 
camp of the king that came from afar, and drove him back 
to his own country. Then the little bowman led the army 
back into the city. The king and all the people called him 
‘^the brave little bowman.” The king made him the chief 
of the army, giving him rich gifts. 


59 


XV 


THE FOOLHARDY WOLF 

A LION bounded forth from his lair one day, look¬ 
ing north, west, south, and east. He saw a Buf¬ 
falo and went to kill him. 

The Lion ate all of the Buffalo-meat he wanted, and then 
went down to the lake for a drink. 

As the Lion turned to go toward his den for a nap, he 
came upon a hungry Wolf. 

The Wolf had no chance to get away, so he threw himself 
at the Lion’s feet. 

“What do you want?” the Lion asked. 

“O Lion, let me be your servant,” said the Wolf. 

“Very well,” said the Lion, “serve me, and you shall have 
good food to eat.” 

So saying, the Lion went into his den for his nap. 

When he woke up, the Lion said to the Wolf: “Each day 
you must go to the mountain top, and see whether there are 
any elephants, or ponies, or buffaloes about. If you see any, 
6o 


THE FOOLHARDY WOLF 


come to me and say: ‘Great Lion, come forth in thy might. 
Food is in sight.’ Then I will kill and eat, and give part 
of the meat to you.” 

So day after day the Wolf climbed to the mountain top, 
and seeing a pony, or a buffalo, or an elephant, he went back 
to the den, and falling at the Lion’s feet he said: “Great 
Lion, come forth in thy might. Food is in sight.” 



Then the Lion would bound forth and kill whichever 
beast it was, sharing the meat with the Wolf. 

Now this Wolf had never had such fine meat to eat, nor 
so much. So as time went on, the Wolf grew bigger and 
bigger, and stronger and stronger, until he was really proud 
of his great size and strength. 

“See how big and strong I am,” he said to himself. 

6i 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

‘Why am I living day after day on food given me by an¬ 
other? I will kill for my own eating. I ’ll kill an elephant 
for myself.” 

So the Wolf went to the Lion, and said: “I want to eat 
an elephant of my own killing. Will you let me lie in your 
corner in the den, while you climb the mountain to look out 
for an elephant ? Then when you see one, you come to the 
den and say, ‘Great Wolf, come forth in thy might. Food 
is in sight.’ Then I will kill the elephant.” 

Said the Lion: “Wolf, only Lions can kill elephants. 
The world has never seen a Wolf that could kill an elephant. 
Give up this notion of yours, and eat what I kill.” 

But no matter what the Lion said, the Wolf would not 
give way. So at last the Lion said: “Well, have your 
own way. Lie down in the den, and I will climb to the top of 
the mountain.” 

When he saw an elephant the Lion went back to the 
mouth of the cave, and said: “Great Wolf, come forth in 
thy might. Food is in sight.” 

Then from the den the Wolf nimbly bounded forth, ran 
to where the elephant was, and, howling three times, he 
sprang at the elephant. 

But the Wolf missed his aim, and fell down at the ele- 
62 



63 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

phant’s feet. The elephant raised his right foot and killed 
the Wolf. 

Seeing all this, the Lion said, ‘‘You will no more come 
forth in your might, you foolhardy Wolf/’ 


^4 


XVI 


THE STOLEN PLOW 

A t one time there were two traders who were great 
friends. One of them lived in a small village, and 
one lived in a large town near-by. 

One day the village trader took his plow to the large town 
to have it mended. Then he left it with the trader who 
lived there. After some time the town trader sold the plow, 
and kept the money. 

When the trader from the village came to get his plow 
the town trader said, “The mice have eaten your plow.’^ 
“That is strange! How could mice eat such a thing?” 
said the village trader. 

That afternoon when all the children went down to the 
river to go swimming, the village trader took the town 
trader’s little son to the house of a friend saying, “Please 
keep this little boy here until I come back for him.” 

By and by the villager went back to the town trader’s 
house. 

“Where is my son? He went away with you. Why 
did n’t you bring him back?” asked the town trader. 

65 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

‘T took him with me and left him on the bank of the 
river while I went down into the water,” said the villager. 
‘‘While I was swimming about a big bird seized your son, 
and flew up into the air with him. I shouted, but I could 
not make the bird let go,” he said. 

“That cannot be true,” cried the town trader. “No 
bird could carry off a boy. I will go to the court, and you 
will have to go there, and tell the judge.” 

The villager said, “As you please”; and they both went to 
the court. The town trader said to the judge: 

“This fellow took my son with him to the river, and when 
I asked where the boy was, he said that a bird had carried 
him off.” 

“What have you to say?” said the judge to the village 
trader. 

“I told the father that I took the boy with me, and that 
a bird had carried him off,” said the village trader. 

“But where in the world are there birds strong enough to 
carry off boys?” said the judge. 

“I have a question to ask you,” answered the village 
trader. “If birds cannot carry off boys, can mice eat 
plows ?” 

“What do you mean by that?” asked the judge. 

“I left my good plow with this man. When I came for 

66 



THE STOLEN PLOW 

it he told me that the mice had eaten it. If mice eat plows, 
then birds carry off boys; but if mice cannot do this, neither 
can birds carry off boys. This man says the mice ate my 
plow/^ 


The judge said to the town trader, “Give back the plow to 
this man, and he will give your son back to you.” 

And the two traders went out of the court, and by night¬ 
time one had his son back again, and the other had his plow. 


67 


XVII 


THE LION IN BAD COMPANY 
NE day a young Lion came suddenly upon a Wolf. 



The Wolf was not able to get away, so he said to 


the Lion: “Please, Great Lion, could you take 


me to your den, and let me live with you and your mate ? I 
will work for you all my days.” 

This young Lion had been told by his father and mother 
not to make friends with any Wolf. But when this Wolf 
called him “Great Lion,” he said to himself: “This Wolf is 
not bad. This Wolf is not like other Wolves.” So he 
took the Wolf to the den where he lived with his father and 
mother. 

Now this Lion’s father was a fine old Lion, and he told 
his son that he did not like having this Wolf there. But 
the young Lion thought he knew better than his father, so 
the Wolf stayed in the den. 

One day the Wolf wanted horse-flesh to eat, so he said 
to the young Lion, “Sir, there is nothing we have not eaten 
except horse-meat; let us take a horse.” 


68 


THE LION IN BAD COMPANY 


‘‘But where are there horses?’' asked the Lion. 

“There are small ponies on the river bank,” said the Wolf. 
So the young Lion went with the Wolf to the river bank 
when the ponies were bathing. The Lion caught a small 
pony, and throwing it on his back, he ran back to his den. 



His father said: “My son, those ponies belong to the 
king. Kings have many skilful archers. Lions do not 
live long who eat ponies belonging to the king. Do not 
take another pony.” 

But the young Lion liked the taste of horse-meat, and he 
caught and killed pony after pony. 

69 



MORE JATAKA TALES 

Soon the king heard that a Lion was killing the ponies 
when they went to bathe in the river. '‘Build a tank inside 
the town/’ said the king. “The lion will not get the ponies 
there.” But the Lion killed the ponies as they bathed in 
the tank. 


Then the king said the ponies must be kept in the stables. 
But the Lion went over the wall, and killed the ponies in 
their stables. 

At last the king called an archer, who shot like lightning. 
“Do you think you can shoot this Lion?” the king asked 
70 


THE LION IN BAD COMPANY 


him. The archer said that he was sure he could. ‘‘Very 
well/* said the king, “take your place in the tower on the 
wall, and shoot him.** So the archer waited there in the 
tower. 

By and by the Lion and the Wolf came to the wall. The 
Wolf did not go over the wall but waited to see what would 
happen. The Lion sprang over the wall. Very soon he 
caught and killed a pony. Then the archer let fly an arrow. 

The Lion roared, “I am shot.** 

Then the Wolf said to himself: “The Lion has been 
shot, and soon he will die. I will now go back to my old 
home in the woods.** And so he did. 

The Lion fell down dead. 


71 


XVIII 

THE WISE GOAT AND THE WOLF 

O NCE upon a time, many, many wild Goats lived 
in a cave in the side of a hill. A Wolf lived with 
his mate not far from this cave. Like all 
Wolves they liked the taste of Goat-meat. So they caught 
the Goats, one after another, and ate them all but one who 
was wiser than all the others. Try as they might, the 
Wolves could not catch her. 

One day the Wolf said to his mate: ‘‘My dear, let us 
play a trick on that wise Goat. I will lie down here pretend¬ 
ing to be dead. You* go alone to the cave where the Goat 
lives, and looking very sad, say to her: ^My dear, do you see 
my mate lying there dead ? I am so sad; I have no friends. 
Will you be good to me? Will you come and help me bury 
the body of my mate?’ The Goat will be sorry for you 
and I think she will come here with you. When she stands 
beside me I will spring upon her and bke her in the neck. 

72 


THE WISE GOAT AND THE WOLF 

Then she will fall over dead, and we shall have good meat 
to eat.’’ 

The Wolf then lay down, and his mate went to the Goat, 
saying what she had been told to say. 

But the wise Goat said: ‘‘My dear, all my family and 
friends have been eaten by your mate. I am afraid to go 
one step with you. I am far safer here than I would be 
there.” 

*‘Do not be afraid,” said the Wolf. “What harm can a 
dead Wolf do to you?” 

These and many more words the Wolf said to the Goat, 
so that at last the Goat said she would go with the Wolf. 

But as they went up the hill side by side, the Goat said to 
herself: “Who knows what will happen? How do I 
know the Wolf is dead?” She said to the Wolf, ‘T think 
it will be better if you go on in front of me.” 

The Wolf thought he heard them coming. He was 
hungry and he raised up his head to see if he could see them. 
The Goat saw him raise his head, and she turned and ran 
back to her cave. 

“Why did you raise your head when you were pretending 
to be dead?” the Wolf asked her mate. He had no good 
answer. 

By and by the Wolves were both so very hungry that the 

73 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

Wolf asked his mate to try once more to catch the Goat. 

This time the Wolf went to the Goat and said: ‘‘My 
friend, your coming helped us, for as soon as you came, my 



mate felt better. He is now very much better. Come and 
talk to him. Let us be friends and have a good time to¬ 
gether.’’ 


74 




THE WISE GOAT AND THE WOLF 


The wise Goat thought: “These wicked Wolves want 
to play another trick on me. But I have thought of a trick 
to play on them.’' So the Goat said: “I will go to see 
your mate, and I will take my friends with me. You go 
back and get ready for us. Let us all have a good time to¬ 
gether.” 

Then the Wolf was afraid, and she asked: “Who are 
the friends who will come with you? Tell me their names.” 

The wise Goat said: “I will bring the two Hounds, Old 
Gray and Young Tan, and that fine big dog called Four- 
Eyes. And I will ask each of them to bring his mate.” 

The Wolf waited to hear no more. She turned, and 
away she ran back to her mate. The Goat never saw either 
of them again. 

/ 


75 


XIX 


PRINCE WICKED AND THE GRATEFUL 
ANIMALS 

O NCE upon a time a king had a son named Prince 
Wicked. He was fierce and cruel, and he spoke 
to nobody without abuse, or blows. Like grit 
in the eye, was Prince Wicked to every one, both in the 
palace and out of it. 

His people said to one another, ‘If he acts this way while 
he is a prince, how will he act when he is king?’^ 

One day when the prince was swimming in the river, sud¬ 
denly a great storm came on, and it grew very dark. 

In the darkness the servants who were with the prince 
swam from him, saying to themselves, “Let us leave him 
alone in the river, and he may drown.’’ 

When they reached the shore, some of the servants who 
had not gone into the river said, “Where is Prince Wicked?” 

“Is n’t he here?” they asked. “Perhaps he came out of 
the river in the darkness and went home.” Then the serv¬ 
ants all went back to the palace. 

76 


PRINCE WICKED AND GRATEFUL ANIMALS 


The king asked where his son was, and again the serv¬ 
ants said: ‘Ts n’t he here, O King ? A great storm came 
on soon after we went into the water. It grew very dark. 
When we came out of the water the prince was not with us.” 

At once the king had the gates thrown open. He and all 
his men searched up and down the banks of the river for 
the missing prince. But no trace of him could be found. 

In the darkness the prince had been swept down the river. 
He was crying for fear he would drown when he came 
across a log. He climbed upon the log, and floated farther 
down the river. 

When the great storm arose, the water rushed into the 
homes of a Rat and a Snake who lived on the river bank. 
The Rat and the Snake swam out into the river and found 
the same log the prince had found. The Snake climbed 
upon one end of the log, and the Rat climbed upon the other. 

On the river’s bank a cottonwood-tree grew, and a young 
Parrot lived in its branches. The storm pulled up this tree, 
and it fell into the river. The heavy rain beat down the 
Parrot when it tried to fly, and it could not go far. Look¬ 
ing down it saw the log and flew down to rest. Now there 
were four on the log floating down stream together. 

Just around the bend in the river a certain poor man had 
built himself a hut. As he walked to and fro late at night 

77 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

listening to the storm, he heard the loud cries of the prince. 
The poor man said to himself: ‘T must get that man out 
of the water. I must save his life.” So he shouted: “I 
will save you! I will save you!” as he swam out in the 
river. 

Soon he reached the log, and pushing it by one end, he 



soon pushed it into the bank. The prince jumped up and 
down, he was so glad to be safe and sound on dry land. 

Then the poor man saw the Snake, the Rat, and the Par¬ 
rot, and carried them to his hut. He built a fire, putting 
the animals near it so they could get dry. He took care of 
them first, because they were the weaker, and afterwards 
he looked after the comfort of the prince. 

78 



PRINCE WICKED AND GRATEFUL ANIMALS 


Then the poor man brought food and set it before them, 
looking after the animals first and the prince afterwards. 
This made the young prince angry, and he said to himself: 
“This poor man does not treat me like a prince. He takes 



care of the animals before taking care of me.’’ Then the 
prince began to hate the poor man. 

A few days later, when the prince, and the Snake, the 
Rat, and the Parrot were rested, and the storm was all over, 
the Snake said good-by to the poor man with these words; 

79 



MORE JATAKA TALES 

^‘Father, you have been very kind to me. I know where 
there is some buried gold. If ever you want gold, you have 
only to come to my home and call, 'Snake!’ and I will show 
you the buried gold. It shall all be yours.” 

Next the Rat said good-by to the poor man. 'Tf 
ever you want money,” said the Rat, "come to my home, 
and call out, 'Rat!’ and I will show you where a great deal 
of money is buried near my home. It shall all be yours.” 

Then the Parrot came, saying: "Father, silver and gold 
have I none, but if you ever want choice rice, come to where 
I live and call, 'Parrot!’ and I will call all my family and 
friends together, and we will gather the choicest rice in the 
fields for you.” 

Last came the prince. In his heart he hated the poor man 
who had saved his life. But he pretended to be as thank¬ 
ful as the animals had been, saying, "Come to me when I 
am king, and I will give you great riches.” So saying, he 
went away. 

Not long after this the prince’s father died, and Prince 
Wicked was made king. He was then very rich. 

By and by the poor man said to himself: "Each of the 
four whose lives I saved made a promise to me. I will see 
if they will keep their promises.” 

8q 


PRINCE WICKED AND GRATEFUL ANIMALS 


First of all he went to the Snake, and standing near his 
hole, the poor man called out, ''Snake!” 

At once the Snake darted forth, and with every mark of 
respect he said: "Father, in this place there is much gold. 
Dig it up and take it all.” 

"Very well,” said the poor man. "When I need it, I 
will not forget.” 

After visiting for a while, the poor man said good-by to 
the Snake, and went to where the Rat lived, calling out, 
"Rat I” 

The Rat came at once, and did as the Snake had done, 
showing the poor man where the money was buried. 

"When I need it, I will come for it,” said the poor man. 

Going next to the Parrot, he called out, "Parrot 1” and the 
bird flew down from the tree-top as soon as he heard the 
call. 

"O Father,” said the Parrot, "shall I call together all my 
family and friends to gather choice rice for you?” 

The poor man, seeing that the Parrot was willing and 
ready to keep his promise, said: "I do not need rice now. 
If ever I do, I will not forget your offer.” 

Last of all, the poor man went into the city where the 
king lived. The king, seated on his great white elephant, 

8l 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

was riding through the city. The king saw the poor man, 
and said to himself: “That poor man has come to ask me 
for the great riches I promised to give him. I must have 
his head cut off before he can tell the people how he saved 
my life when I was the prince.” 

So the king called his servants to him and said: “You 
see that poor man over there? Seize him and bind him, 
beat him at every corner of the street as you march him out 
of the city, and then chop off his head.” 

The servants had to obey their king. So they seized and 
bound the poor man. They beat him at every corner of 
the street. The poor man did not cry out, but he said, over 
and over again, “It is better to save poor, weak animals 
than to save a prince.” 

At last some wise men among the crowds along the street 
asked the poor man what prince he had saved. Then the 
poor man told the whole story, ending with the words, 
“By saving your king, I brought all this pain upon myself.” 

The wise men and all the rest of the crowd cried out: 
“This poor man saved the life of our king, and now the 
king has ordered him to be killed. How can we be sure 
that he will not have any, or all, of us killed? Let us kill 
him.” And in their anger they rushed from every side upon 

83 


PRINCE WICKED AND GRATEFUL ANIMALS 


the king as he rode on his elephant, and with arrows and 
stones they killed him then and there. 

Then they made the poor man king, and set him to rule 
over them. 

The poor man ruled his people well. One day he decided 
once more to try the Snake, the Rat, and the P'arrot. So, 
followed by many servants, the king went to where the 
Snake lived. 

At the call of “Snake!” out came the Snake from his hole, 
saying, “Here, O King, is your treasure; take it.” 

“I will,” said the king. “And I want you to cDme with 
me.” 

Then the king had his servants dig up the gold. 

Going to where the Rat lived, the king called, “Rat!” 
Out came the Rat, and bowing low to the king, the Rat 
said, “Take all the money buried here and have your serv¬ 
ants carry it away.” 

“I will,” said the king, and he asked the Rat to go with 
him and the Snake. 

Then the king went to where the Parrot lived, and called, 
“Parrot!” The Parrot flew down to the king’s feet and 
said, “O King, shall I and my family and my friends 
gather choice rice for you ?” 

83 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

‘‘Not now, not until rice is needed,’^ said the king. ‘‘Will 
you come with us?” The Parrot was glad to join them. 



So with the gold, and the money, and with the Snake, 
the Rat, and the Parrot as well, the king went back to the 
city. 

The king had the gold and the money hidden away in the 
palace. He had a tube of gold made for the Snake to live 

84 













PRINCE WICKED AND GRATEFUL ANIMALS 


in. He had a glass box made for the Rat’s home, and a cage 
of gold for the Parrot. Each had the food he liked best of 
all to eat every day, and so these four lived happily all their 
lives. 


85 


XX 


BEAUTY AND BROWNIE 

T WO Deer named Beauty and Brownie lived with 
their father and mother and great herds of Deer 
in a forest. One day their father called them to 
him and said: “The Deer in the forest are always in dan¬ 
ger when the com is ripening in the fields. It will be best 
for you to go away for a while, and you must each take 
your own herd of Deer with you.” 

“What is the danger, Father?” they asked. 

“When the Deer go into the fields to eat the com they 
get caught in the traps the men set there,” the father said. 
“Many Deer are caught in these traps every year.” 

“Shall you go away with us ?” Brownie said. 

“No, your mother and I, and some of the other old Deer 
will stay here in the forest,” said the father. “There will 
be food enough for us, but there is not enough for you and 
your herds. You must lead your herds up into the high 
hills where there is plenty of food for you, and stay there 
86 




■> 

) 

t 

) 

) 



MORE JATAKA TALES 

tintil the crops are all cut. Then you can bring your herds 
back here. But you must be careful. 

“You must travel by night, because the hunters will see 
you if you go by day. And you must not take your herd 
near the villages where hunters live.’^ 



So Beauty and Brownie and their herds set out. Beauty 
traveled at night and did not go near any villages, and at 
last brought his herd safely to the high hills. Not a single 
Deer did Beauty lose. 

But Brownie forgot what his father had said. Early each 
morning he started off with his herd, going along all through 
the day. When he saw a village, he led his herd right past 
88 


BEAUTY AND BROWNIE 

it. Again and again hunters saw the herd, and they killed 
many, many of the Deer in Brownie’s herd. 

When crops had been cut, the Deer started back to the 
forest. Beauty led all his herd back, but stupid Brownie 
traveled in the daytime, and again he took his herd past the 
villages. When he reached the forest only a few were left 
of all Brownie’s herd. 


89 


XXI 


THE ELEPHANT AND THE DOG 

O NCE upon a time a Dog used to go into the stable 
where the king’s Elephant lived. At first the 
Dog went there to get the food that was left after 
the Elephant had finished eating. 

Day after day the Dog went to the stable, waiting around 
for bits to eat. But by and by the Elephant and the Dog 
came to be great friends. Then the Elephant began to share 
his food with the Dog, and they ate together. When the 
Elephant slept, his friend the Dog slept beside him. When 
the Elephant felt like playing, he would catch the Dog in 
his trunk and swing him to and fro. Neither* the Dog nor 
the Elephant was quite happy unless the other was near- 
by. 

One day a farmer saw the Dog and said to the Elephant- 
keeper : ‘T will buy that Dog. He looks good-tempered, and 
I see that he is smart. How much do you want for the 
Dog?" 


90 


THE ELEPHANT AND THE DOG 

The Elephant-keeper did not care for the Dog, and he did 
want some money just then. So he asked a fair price, and 
the farmer paid it and took the Dog away to the country. 





The king’s Elephant missed the Dog and did not care to 
eat when his friend was not there to share the food. When 
the time came for the Elephant to bathe, he would not bathe. 
The next day again the Elephant would not eat, and he 
91 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

would not bathe. The third day, when the Elephant would 
neither eat nor bathe, the king was told about it. 

The king sent for his chief servant, saying, "‘Go to the 
stable and find out why the Elephant is acting in this way.’* 



The chief servant went to the stable and looked the Ele¬ 
phant all over. Then he said to the Elephant-keeper: 
“There seems to be nothing the matter with this Elephant’s 
body, but why does he look so sad? Has he lost a play¬ 
mate ?” 

“Yes,” said the keeper, “there was a Dog wjio ate and 
92 


THE ELEPHANT AND THE DOG 


slept and played with the Elephant. The Dog went away 
three days ago.” 



“Do you know where the Dog is now?” asked the chief 
servant. 

“No, I do not,” said the keeper. 

Then the chief servant went back to the king and said, 

93 


MORE JATAKA TALES 

'The Elephant is not sick, but he is lonely without his 
friend, the Dog.’^ 

"Where is the Dog?” asked the king. 

"A farmer took him away, so the Elephant-keeper says,” 
said the chief servant. "No one knows where the farmer 
lives.” 

"Very well,” said the king. "I will send word all over 
the country, asking the man who bought this Dog to turn 
him loose. I will give him back as much as he paid for 
the Dog.” 

When the farmer who had bought the Dog heard this, 
he turned him loose. The Dog ran back as fast as ever 
he could go to the Elephant’s stable. The Elephant was so 
glad to see the Dog that he picked him up with his trunk 
and put him on his head. Then he put him down again. 

When the Elephant-keeper brought food, the Elephant 
watched the Dog as he ate, and then took his own food. 

All the rest of their lives the Elephant and the Dog lived 
together. 


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